Renaissance, Humanism, and Spanish Literature’s Golden Age

Origin of the Renaissance

In the late Middle Ages, the rising bourgeoisie and economic prosperity fostered an optimistic worldview. Intellectuals rediscovered and imitated classical Greek subjects, forms, and attitudes. Five powerful Italian states—Florence, Venice, Milan, the Papal States, and Naples—became patrons of the arts.

Key Figures of 15th-Century Italian Culture

Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio shaped 15th-century Italian culture, alongside the transformative invention of printing.

Renaissance Themes and Motifs

Renaissance themes embraced classically inspired, secular, pagan, and sensual motifs, often incorporating elements like carpe diem, beatus ille, bucolic settings (locus amoenus), and mythology.

Petrarch and the Renaissance

Works of Francesco Petrarca

Francesco Petrarca, a 14th-century Italian poet, embodied the ideals of humanism. While he wrote several Latin works, his compositions in the Romance language hold historical significance.

The Triumphs

This allegorical poem, composed of six unequal chapters, explores various themes through interconnected chains of events.

The Canzoniere (Songbook)

A collection of over 350 poems, primarily focused on love.

Petrarchism

• Combines courtly love themes of the medieval period with classical resources.
• Employs various literary devices: similes, comparisons, allusions, allegorical figures, and classical myths.
• Expresses a wide range of emotions: sadness, loneliness, jealousy, hope, and suffering.
• Demonstrates linguistic intelligence and ingenuity through polished, transparent verses filled with imagery and poetic figures.
• Utilizes antitheses, correlations, and paradoxes.
• Features alliterations related to the beloved’s name.
• Employs metaphors to depict the effects of love.
• Introduces new metric forms, including the decasyllabic verse.
• Favors the sonnet form, but also uses canzone, sestina, song, eclogue, ballad, and madrigal.

Spanish Poetry

15th Century

Two distinct forms of poetry existed: learned poetry and folk poetry. Court poetry and songs primarily used octosyllabic verse, while popular poetry found expression in romances.

16th Century

Learned poetry gained wider distribution through songbooks, while popular poetry, particularly romances, flourished in the latter half of the century.

Italianate Poetry

• Introduced the hendecasyllable, often combined with heptasyllabic verse.
• Influenced themes and attitudes, such as the idealization of love, pastoral themes, and the projection of the poet’s emotions.

The Novel in the 16th Century

The novel flourished, culminating in the works of Cervantes. Two types of narrative emerged: realistic and idealistic (chivalrous and romantic).

Lazarillo de Tormes

Story and Continuations

Lázaro de Tormes serves a series of masters—a blind man, a priest, a nobleman, a friar, a pardoner, a painter, a chaplain, and a constable—each experience contributing to his education. He eventually becomes a town crier and marries the maid of an archpriest.

Plot and Structure

The autobiographical narrative presents a structural unity, beginning and ending with references to Lázaro’s family and social status.

Critical Themes and Social Commentary

Through varied episodes, often centered on deception, the narrator critiques society, religion, and the hypocrisy of the clergy.

Language and Style

The realistic portrayal of characters and events necessitates a direct and truthful language. The first-person narration, realistic events, and the antihero protagonist contribute to the work’s plausibility. Irony is prevalent.

Fray Luis de León

His poems, influenced by the Renaissance, employ Italianate verse and stanzas. His original poetry explores themes of longing for peace, bliss, and spiritual elevation through contemplation of beauty.

San Juan de la Cruz

His scarce but profound poetry, exemplified by Dark Night of the Soul, Spiritual Canticle, and Living Flame of Love, uses symbolism to express the mystical union of the soul with God.

Cervantes’ Novels

La Galatea

A pastoral novel following the popular genre established by Montemayor’s Diana.

Novelas Ejemplares (Exemplary Novels)

Twelve short stories exploring diverse themes: infidelity, jealousy, love, madness, social critique, and picaresque elements.

Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda

A Byzantine novel featuring fantasy, love, adventure, and travel.

Don Quixote

Publication and Success

The first part, published in 1605, achieved immediate success and was translated into various languages.

Differences Between the Two Parts

• First Part (1605): Contains interspersed stories that disrupt the central action. Adventures are autonomous. Focus on action.
• Second Part (1615): Fewer digressions. Greater interaction between episodes. Deeper exploration of characters’ psychology. The first part influences the second.

Themes and Interpretation

Beyond a simple adventure story, Don Quixote addresses literary, moral, religious, political, social, and philosophical issues, exploring themes of heroism, freedom, and illusion.

Style

Cervantes masterfully employs irony and humor. The language adapts to each character, contrasting Don Quixote’s archaic speech with Sancho Panza’s colloquialisms and proverbs. Dialogues play a crucial role in presenting different perspectives and shaping characters.